Different people might suffer from different kinds of pain, yet the core of their problems is often the same. Take these four people, for example: Kirk had shoulder pain while doing some of his exercises. Gail had had 2 metatarsal fractures in the same foot in a year’s time. Lisa had jaw pain for the […]

Acupuncture and other Chinese medicine techniques are a wonderful adjunct to Physical Therapy or as a stand alone treatment to promote healing, improve health and get people back to doing the things they love to do. So, when I received an email from David Derdiger, an Acupuncturist/Chinese medicine practitioner requesting to rent a room, […]

It’s been almost 2 years since my last race. I had prepared to wear shorts for The Illini Half Marathon in Champaign, IL. Rain was in the forecast, which turned out to be a very cold rain, not a refreshing rain. The incessant, cold rain forced me to wear the only pants I brought with […]

To recover from or prevent back pain, you need to have a strong core. Your core consists of your abdominals, back, and hips. In this video, we’ll walk you through three core stabilization exercises to improve and maintain your core and back strength.

At the beginning of every new year people often make resolutions or goals they plan to achieve in the coming year. Often those goals include starting or resuming an exercise program that went by the wayside for a variety of reasons. Exercising regularly is important for many reasons. It improves musculoskeletal health, joint health, energy […]

Physical therapists (PTs) are movement experts who understand all the individual components of movement, such as which joints move and what muscles work during any phase of any activity, e.g., walking, running, lifting, etc. When you take a step, PTs know the muscles that are working and how much mobility you need in every joint […]

A few years back I saw a YouTube video by Todd Kenyon, PhD from www.TTBIKEFIT.com. He was comparing the two primary running styles of elite ironman triathletes. He called the 2 running styles, gazelles and gliders.

I’ve been told getting a good front desk person is the most difficult hire of any small business. Lucky for me, I didn’t have to search far for just that perfect person, my mother. As she only comes in once a week, not all of you have met her, but those of you who have, […]

As I write my year-end column and reflect back on 2017, I realize there was very little in the news that made me smile, only tragedy after tragedy both nature-made and people-made. My own life had no major life changing events either — no marathons, weddings, or graduations to report. As a result, I had […]

Guest Post by Emilie Totten When people used to ask me, “What hurts?” I’d find it difficult to describe. For nearly 10 years, I’ve had pain in some form or another in many different parts of my body. I used to tell people that it was like a “traveling demon”, showing up in different ways […]

Despite temperatures in the 20’s and below, long weekend runs of brilliant sunshine and fresh snow on the trees, can be the most enjoyable. But the weekday runs, for people who work traditional hours, create some challenges: Darkness upon waking and/or when returning home from work Plummeting temperatures Falling snow Snow and ice on […]

My favorite part of running is being outside, so when winter rolls around, with its plummeting temperatures, snow and darkness, accommodations and some financial investment in winter running gear needs to be made. When my friend Gary began running 6 years ago, he realized to continue running through the Chicago winters, it would take quite […]

Did you know that low back pain and sciatica is the #1 reason people go to see their doctors? Low back pain or sciatica (pain, numbness, or tingling down the back of the leg) can be caused by many things including spinal stenosis, arthritis, a herniated lumbar disc, or a sacroiliac dysfunction. Often these conditions […]

Now that I’m in my mid 50’s, I notice I don’t sleep as well as I used to. And, after the first couple of steps in the morning, my feet and ankles feel very stiff. My older patients and friends complain of back stiffness upon waking in the morning. In fact, no matter the age […]

Why did you begin building birdhouses? When I retired over 10 years ago, I needed a hobby, something I could do in a man cave. So, I began making birdhouses and bird feeders as I love birds, particularly the blue jay. Their blue color streaked with white is so beautiful. For my backyard I made […]

Mindfulness – quite the buzz word these days. I’ve seen articles fly by on my google homepage about: Mindful eating Mindful showering Mindful meditation Mindful exercise How about Mindful Physical Therapy? I haven’t seen an article about Mindful PT fly by on my homepage. But really, PTs have been teaching mindfulness forever – we just […]

August in Chicago is a time for summer fun with numerous activities such as festivals, concerts, the beach, biking, running or kayaking the Skokie lagoons. Every August, for me, is when the Special Kids Foundation (SKF), a board that I’m on, meets to determine the grant recipients of the year. The SKF offers grants to […]

I’d like to share a story about a patient named Gail. Gail had severe low back pain lasting a week that began after doing an intense core exercise class. She was evaluated and received manual therapy and extensive body mechanic instruction, as to prevent further injury to her back. This instruction included how to get […]

How did you get involved in running, triathlon and cyclocross? Growing up in India, I was never physically active even falling behind in regular kid’s play. In 2008, I surpassed 180 pounds, so I made a resolution to lose weight. I started with a 1 minute jog to walk ratio on the treadmill then some […]

Two years ago, while visiting my daughter in Tampa to run the Gasparilla half marathon, we had a chance encounter with three amazing senior women. Before running the half marathon, we picked up my race packet from the expo and then stopped by a Starbucks. While standing in line for coffee, we met three senior women, […]

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I felt much better after initial visit and even more so after the second. I would not have believed I could see such an improvement in how I felt after only two sessions.

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I’ve been to several other PT’s but have never had as effective and long-lasting results as I experienced through Denise.While training for a 70.3 Ironman this year, I developed some debilitating hip and leg pains that made me question whether I would be able to race. Denise quickly identified the problems and treated me over several sessions, which included going over exercises until I really understood what to do. Her patient, intuitive and knowledgeable style made a huge difference in …

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As my fibro symptoms flare, my reliance on IMT and other forms of manual therapy Denise uses is crucial for me. I spend time discussing with Denise what is happening, and no matter how weird it may sound to me, she can usually help me and/or explain to me other types of therapy I should look into to help. I know my brain fog is gaining in severity, but it is very apparent to me that it would be much worse if I didn’t receive such good care from Denise at The Manual Touch.

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I walked in to PT with severe back and knee pain, I couldn’t even tie my own shoe. After 45 minutes of Denise’s treatment, I could tie my own shoe with mild discomfort.

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There is no worse than a nagging injury that keeps you off from pursuing the athletic endeavors. Being an avid road cyclist, gravel rider, cyclocross racer and a marathon runner turned into a recent Triathlete, I train all year round and race all year round. In 2016, May in Terre Haute Sprint triathlon run, I tore some fascia connecting my lowest abdominal and my leg right in the groin area. The condition was diagnosed as Sports Hernia.
Denise started me off with couple of sessions in a week.…

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I have had very significant scoliosis and osteoporosis for many years and I have gone to very “reputable’ physical therapists through the years, but never felt satisfied. A few years ago, I went to my internist for a physical and mentioned I was having back pain. He recommended that I start seeing Denise at The Manual Touch. Due to my past experiences, I was skeptical regarding the success that I could have with another therapist. From my first visit I could tell that Denise had a ve…

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Before I met Denise, I spent a good part of every day in bed. I would go out for one project, then come home and lay on the sofa for the rest of the day. Now I go out in the AM and come home in time to make dinner. Because of work Denise has done with me I feel young again. Exercises are easy but help a lot. She is my angel.

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The variations of exercises are great working the entire body to help my problems of balance.

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Just a note to thank you for the time you spent with me Saturday in evaluating my running technique and body alignment. Your suggestions are already making sense and having an early impact. After our meeting, I went out for a 5K run and found your suggestions “to shorten my stride” and “being conscious of not overlapping my steps” to be helpful.
Thanks Denise

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I have been receiving PT therapy for pain and autoimmune disorders for over 18 months at The Manual Touch. This also affects my kidneys and my lungs and other organs as I swell with fluid that my lymph system doesn’t seem to handle well. I depend on the regular IMT tissue therapy I receive from Denise to help me function as normally as possible. This therapy seems to work synergistically with the acupuncture and medication I also receive. There are no cures for these disorders and as n…

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We believe all body systems and mental/emotional health are connected. We take a whole body approach to discover why patients are not healing and what were the initial causes of their current symptoms.

Our mission is to use this whole body approach to help patients heal and overcome pain and limitations, resulting in improved quality of life.

I was in Florida for vacation and developed an upper respiratory infection. I had annoying coughing and congestion in my chest. This went on for several days, and it was not getting better. It felt like I had a mucous plug stuck in my chest that woul…

I am a pediatric physical therapist who (unsuccessfully) tried to treat my own shoulder pain for more than 1 year. By the time I started PT with Denise, my pain was significantly impacting both my personal and professional life.
After 2 …

The best physical therapist I’ve ever experienced is Denise Schwartz in Wheeling at the Manual Touch. I have seen Denise twice for over 6 months to treat 2 bouts of frozen shoulder that occurred 8 years apart. In addition to my shoulder, she has also…

I had several issues when I began therapy at The Manual Touch. My sacrum had rotated; there was stiffness in the right side of the neck; and pain in the left bicep.
Denise did an excellent job resolving these issues. Besides being very knowl…

When I started to work with Denise I had shoulder and lower back pain. She taught me various exercises along with posture that resulted in significant reduction in the pain. Also, significantly improved my balance. Her massage therapy greatly r…

I came in to see Denise due to a cervical disc herniation. I have been told by Illinois Bone & Joint that they refer patients to Denise often as she is able to help when other physical therapy programs fail. That was definitely the case in my situ…

Many thanks to Denise for PT and gait analysis that has enabled me to successfully run, and run faster than ever before!
And gratitude for Denise’s Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT) which has cleared up my chronic, constant stabbing headache. T…

I had constant neck pain from a car accident 2 years ago. I went through PT somewhere else without any good results. I then was recommended to come to The Manual Touch PT.
At my first appointment I could tell that Denise was able to get right …